Figuring It Out
by AsphodelRegrets
Summary: It's complicated for two mothers to share the guardianship of one son. It's even more complicated when both women are secretly attracted to each other. Oh, and one of them is a magical criminal mastermind, and the other is the one destined to bring her down. AU. The curse isn't broken yet. Starts at the end of episode 21, season 1.
1. Chapter 1

It's complicated for two mothers to share the guardianship of one son. It's even more complicated when both women are secretly attracted to each other. Oh, and one of them is a magical criminal mastermind, and the other is the one destined to bring her down. AU. Regina changed her mind about giving Emma the poisoned apple. Starts at the end of episode 21, season 1.

The doorbell chimed.

Regina looked up, hurriedly untying her apron. It could only be Ms. Swan. Ordinary mortals did not simply walk up and ring the doorbell. She ran her fingers through her short dark hair, tousling it. Presentation was everything.

The now-familiar sight of long blonde hair and that _stupid_ red leather jacket sent a chill of loathing down Regina's spine.

"We need to talk."

One thing Regina was forced to admire: Swan didn't mess around with extra words.

"Yes, I imagine we do. I was just around to call you. Come right in."

Swan stomped across the threshold of Regina's home like she owned the bloody place.

"Do what you're so skilled at and make yourself at home," she said extraneously.

The blonde looked around the chilly, spacious foyer and expensive furnishings with a critical eye. She really had no shame.

"I believe you came to see _me_," Regina redirected.

"Right, look . . . this isn't easy." She was breathing rather heavily. "I think that this . . . whatever is between us, needs to end."

Regina raised her eyebrows at the odd phrasing choice. It sounded like Swan was trying to break up with her. How . . . Freudian.

"At last, something we can agree on."

"I wanna make a deal with you about Henry."

Regina smirked. "I'm not making any deals with y-"

"I'm leaving town," she cut in.

"_What?_"

She couldn't.

Physically she _could_. The 'savior' could come and go as she pleased.

How could she leave Henry, though? It wasn't adding up.

"This . . . what we're doing is a problem." She sighed. "And I'm gonna go, but I have conditions. I still get to see Henry, I get to visit, and spend time, whatever."

Regina folded her arms. "And you get to see him, you're _still_ in his life."

"Look, in any deal both parties are a little unhappy, but let's be honest. We both know the world where I'm not in his life no longer exists and there's no one who can do anything about that."

The oven timer went off. Regina could indeed do something about that. She smirked at Swan. "Would you mind following me for a moment?" she asked innocently, leading the way to her kitchen.

The delicious smell of poison filled the room and she pulled the pastry out of the oven and set it on the counter.

"So, what are you proposing?" Best to keep her talking.

"I don't know." She placed her hand on the counter in a possessive manner that made Regina grit her teeth. "We'll figure it out as we go."

"But he's _my _son," Regina confirmed.

Swan looked at her for a long moment, deciding something. "Yeah."

Regina smiled. Swan might have given Henry half her genetic code, but Regina had raised him. She had heard his first words and watched his first steps. She had bandaged every scrape and wiped away every tear. He was her son, and she was his mother.

"Oh, Ms. Swan," she called. Swan came back.

Regina hesitated, holding the plastic container. It would be _so_ convenient to just get rid of her. The curse would be fixed and stronger than ever. Oh, people would wonder if she had been the one to bump off the beloved sheriff, but they couldn't do more than wonder.

But.

Henry would know.

He was a sharp kid. As much as Regina wished he had been kept out of all this magic stuff, he knew now. He would put two and two together as easily as adding the last piece of a puzzle, and then he would be . . .

Regina looked into Swan's blank green eyes. Henry loved her. He had formed an inexplicable attachment to his birth mother, and if he knew that Regina had killed her . . .

He would be gone forever.

She couldn't lose Henry.

There had to be another way, some other way to strengthen the curse. She could figure it out later. For now, she needed to keep Swan close. Keep Swan close, keep Henry happy. That was the equation her family life had become.

"What?"

Swan was still standing in the doorway, looking impatiently at Regina. Regina slid the pastry into a plastic container. She could hide it later.

"Maybe - I don't know. You might not have to leave."

"_What?"_ That was a different kind of 'what' from the first time she asked. Her eyes were round with wonderment.

"My first priority is to keep Henry happy," she explained. "You obviously make Henry happy. He would be devastated if you left."

"Look, I really don't think -"

"Come to dinner later, and we can discuss it with him."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you really going to drag Henry into this custody fight?"

Regina shoved the pastry to the back of the cabinet, where Henry wouldn't find it. "I'm a progressive parent, Ms. Swan."


	2. Chapter 2

Regina clattered the skillet loudly as she set about preparing pasta puttanesca. Ms. Swan was coming for dinner, and she felt a competitive urge to completely impress her.

Cooking was a skill that she had learned in Storybrooke. Cora would never have let her near a stove. Oddly enough, the same skills that made Regina a skilled sorceress applied in the kitchen too - her precision, her creativity.

Some of the hot oil leapt out of the skillet, scalding her wrist. Regina hissed. She had stirred the garlic too vigorously.

She was _not_ nervous.

Of course, she would have to think of a good wine pairing. Probably the 2007 Brunello di Montcalcino. She also had to launder the tablecloth, and find some sort of dessert, and make sure there were enough clean forks from the same set -

Damn, living without magic was difficult.

By the time the preparations were finished, Regina was exhausted. Her face was flushed, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on the back of her neck. Gross. She wanted to take a shower before Swan showed up.

"Henry?" she called. Her voice echoed through the glamorous, empty house. He was hardly around anymore. Granted, that was convenient right now, but it was getting to be a bit sad.

Hurriedly, she slid out of her clothes and turned the dial all the way to cold.

When she stepped out, drying her short hair, the doorbell chimed. Damn.

"Um, one moment!"

Swan knocked insistently on the door. Oaf.

She had no choice. Regina tossed on her silk bathrobe and walked quickly down the stairs as Swan knocked again. "Coming!"

Swan's eyes widened as she took in Regina's state. The mayor rolled her eyes.

"As you see, I was in the middle of something," she said coolly, gesturing Swan into her home. Henry was right behind her, of course.

"Hi, Mom," he said. His tone was neutral, and he avoided looking at his mother. He was always like that recently.

"Hello, Henry. Go wash up, I'm about to serve dinner." She turned to Swan. "Ms. Swan, if you would wait here for a moment while I . . . freshen up."

It was rude to make a guest wait in the foyer, but Regina wanted to reassert her power in some way. Especially because of the bathrobe. Her face was burning.

Regina decided on a dramatic black dress trimmed with jet glass beads. It was a bit low-cut, but she had worn much more immodest dresses in the Enchanted Forest without any shame. There was no time for full makeup, but she rolled on a layer of pearly pink lip color. She didn't need mascara; her naturally dark lashes were still damp.

So was her hair. Irritably, she swept it up in a large clip. This seemed like too much effort just to impress Swan.

Before descending, she slipped on black high heels. Just so she would be a little bit taller than Swan.

She was waiting with her arms crossed, scowling petulantly. Charming.

"Let me take your coat," Regina said smoothly. Swan removed it, but not before shooting Regina a look.

It was a relief to get rid of the Red Leather Monstrosity, anyway, though Swan had hardly dressed for the occasion. She was wearing a simple black tank top, black pants, and black boots. Together, the two women looked like casual funeral-goers. Or underdressed ninjas.

Regina placed the jacket on the hall table, folding it neatly. "Shall we?"

She led the way into the dining room. She was actually quite proud. The tablecloth was spotlessly white, and a candle glowed softly at either end of the table.

Swan's eyebrows went up. "I- this is nice. Thanks for having me."

Regina smirked. "No problem. I figured, since we're going to be one big happy family now, we might as well start acting like one," she said, not without irony.

Henry joined them. "Woah. This is . . . fancy." He smiled at Regina, a rare sight that made her heart twinge.

Choosing seats was a bit awkward. Regina sat at the head of the oval table, of course. Henry sat on her right, leaving Swan to hover uncertainly for a moment. The third place setting was on Regina's left, but she clearly wanted to sit next to Henry.

Regina had planned this deliberately. She wanted a bit of distance between Henry and Swan.

She served the pasta, grateful that she had had the foresight to finalize the preparation _before_ getting into the shower.

They got to the business of eating without ado. Regina had never been one for saying grace, as she herself was the highest power that she was aware of.

Swan ate ravenously. Maybe it was something about growing up in the foster system - the urgency to take what was in front of her while she had it. Or maybe that was just her personality.

Henry was the first to break the lull of clinking forks and quiet chewing. "This is amazing."

Regina smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Yeah," agreed Swan, putting down her fork. "It's really good. What is it, specifically?"

"Pasta puttanesca. An old family recipe." Lie.

Swan squinted suspiciously. "Mills isn't an Italian name, Madam Mayor."

Damn her. "My mother was Italian." Lie. Believable because of her dark hair and eyes, but apparently not acceptable to Swan, who shot her another of those icy green looks.

"Really? Was she born here, or did she immigrate?"

Abruptly, Regina stood and cleared the plates. "Born here. I bought ice cream, if anyone wants any."

"Ooh, what flavor?" asked Henry.

"Strawberry. Your favorite."

"Awesome."

She emerged from the kitchen a moment later with a dish of the pink dessert, which she set in front of Henry.

"Thanks, Mom."

Swan flinched ever-so-slightly when Henry called Regina 'Mom'. She smiled deliberately at Swan as she sat.

"So, Henry, there's something that Ms. Swan and I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" he asked apprehensively.

"We're thinking about sharing custody," put in Swan. Regina looked sharply at her.

"That was not part of the deal!" she protested.

"Yes, it is! What was the deal about, if not that?"

"I don't know, visitation rights or something."

"That was when I was planning on leaving."

Henry looked at Swan, incredulous distrust showing on his face. "You were?"

"No! I mean, yes, but I changed my mind. I'm not leaving."

"You're also not getting custody of Henry. He lives with me, full time."

"I can't accept that."

"Look, I really don't want to drag a court case into this, but I will if I need to. I get Henry on the weekends, at least."

"No. The weekends are the only time I get off work, and I need to spend quality time with my son."

"I have a job, too!"

"True. What you lack is a home. Do you really think it's appropriate for Henry to share a small house with his unstable birth mother and his schoolteacher?"

"Unstable - !"

"Stop it, both of you!"

The women turned back to Henry.

"I'm going to bed," he said glumly, getting up from the table. "If you're going to fight, don't do it in front of me."

"Oh, Henry - "

"I didn't mean - "

They glanced venomously back at each other.

Henry went upstairs, leaving his ice cream untouched.

"Well, this is a fine mess," said Regina.

"He's right," said Swan. "We need to stop fighting. We're doing this for Henry, and so far he's the one who's been hurt."

"I can't say that I'm not going to fight for him."

"Same for me, but we need to - "

"Keep civil tongues in our heads, I understand." Regina stood, smoothing back a few stray hairs. "I forgot to serve the wine. Should I bring that out now?"

"Um, sure."

The dark red liquid shone dully in the candlelight. Regina thought of garnets.

Swan smelled the contents of her glass, then took a sip, evidently savoring it. "This is quality stuff," she noted appreciatively. "2007 was a great year."

"Are you a wine enthusiast too?" asked Regina politely.

She shrugged. "Not so much. I know what I like, though."

"Mm."

They continued sipping in silence. When the glasses were empty, Regina poured another round.

After she had refilled their glasses for a second time, Swan started giggling. Really, genuinely giggling. Regina really didn't know how to respond, so she chuckled indulgently.

"Some progressive parents we are," Swan managed at last.

Regina considered this for a long moment, then full-on laughed. Her head was a little fuzzy, and it was _hilarious_ to consider herself and Swan as a parental unit. Tears of mirth leaked out of the corners of her eyes.

"Progressive parents!" she gasped.

Abruptly, Swan stood. "I should really get going . . . Mary Margaret will start to wonder if you killed me or something."

Regina stopped laughing immediately. "Sure. Um, drive safe."

"Thanks for dinner. It was great."

"Sure."


End file.
